Serving Previously Incarcerated Individuals

1. Serving Previously Incarcerated Individuals

2. What is a previously incarcerated individual? • An individual that has been convicted of a criminal offense and returns to the community after a period of incarceration in a correctional facility

3. Iowa Department of Corrections/Community Based Corrections Data: IDOC currently has 9 correctional institutions that house about 8,600 incarcerated individuals (80% of which will return to their communities) CBC has 8 judicial districts that supervise about 28,500 individuals on probation, parole, special sentence (sex offense) or pre-trial release CBC also has 22 residential correctional facilities (work release) that house about 2,250 individuals Racial distribution of Iowa’s incarcerated individuals is 68% White, 26% Black, 7% Hispanic, 2% American Indian and 1% Asian Iowa’s current recidivism rate is 37.8% National average recidivism rate is 43%

4. The unemployment rate for formerly incarcerated individuals is 27% - Unemployment is a top risk factor in recidivism (reoffending) - Barriers get in the way of obtaining successful employment and job retention - If providers identify and find ways to deal with these barriers they are able to offer information on resources and referral sources to help with a seamless transition and employment services

5. Barriers • Internal barriers – Something within you that prevents you from reaching your goal. Examples are life experiences, thoughts, feelings. • External barriers– Something in your environment that prevents you from reaching your goal. Examples are resources, people, job.

6. Internal barriers -Poor self-concept - affects their motivation to pursue a job, persist through multiple rejections, follow through with action - lack of knowledge of societal norms - may not articulate well - Negative beliefs - tend to create a negative outlook on life - unlikely they were taught to set goals and shown how to achieve them - typically lack the planning and decision making skills required to be successful - strong ties to criminal peers - Lack of self-awareness - unsure of their interests, skills, work values and abilities - aren’t thinking about job vs. career

7. Internal barriers - Vulnerabilities - may have been abused physically or sexually (trauma) - may have been lied to (untrusting) - manipulated into doing things against their will - may not take personal responsibility for their behaviors and consequences so they don’t buy into self-efficacy - struggle asking for help as pride gets in the way (criminal code) - uneducated - lack of knowledge about labor market - minimal or no support system - Mental illness and substance abuse - often self medicate mental illness with drug abuse - lack health insurance needed to pay for medication and or treatment services - chemically altered their brain with drug abuse and struggle to find a new normal - unmanaged mental illness disrupts their life

8. External barriers - Transportation - may owe hundreds or thousands of dollars to get driver’s license reinstated - may have lost driver’s license due to criminal conviction (drugs or OWI) - inability to pay financial obligations such as child support - may live or desire employment that’s not on a bus line - Childcare - may rely on family to watch their children to save money but that family ends up not being reliable - it’s expensive, lack of awareness for child care assistance program - Documents needed to obtain employment (birth certificate, social security card, photo ID) - may have moved repeatedly - in and out of correctional facilities so may have lost these documents

9. External barriers - Criminal history - limitations on jobs they can obtain (sex offenders have employment restrictions and registry requirements) - violent offenses such as murder, robbery, vehicular homicide, possession of a firearm, child endangerment - employer attitudes about hiring someone with a criminal history - Clothing for job interview - clothes may no longer fit - perhaps they don’t possess any clothing once released due to various reasons - Financial obligations - immediately owe $300 for supervision fee, up to $1500 if they are a sex offender in need of treatment services - required to pay restitution of their criminal offense - if in a work release facility they must pay $400-$500 a month rent - child support builds up while incarcerated unless modified - private pay for additional treatment services due to lag in medicaid approval or employer insurance to kick in

10. How can we help? Now that you have learned some of the statistics, barriers and characteristics of previously incarcerated individuals let’s talk about how we can better serve this population. Fine tuning of the skills you already possess can help your interactions be more positive.

11. Practice empathy It’s really easy to let your personal biases get in the way of your professional role. Imagine what it’s like to walk in their shoes for even one day. Many times over they have been shamed or rejected in one form or another. Be the agent of change. When interacting with them validate their perspective and feelings, examine your own attitude and listen to what they are saying. This will allow you to better understand their needs and be able to provide individualized services.

12. Build trust Trust is something that takes years to build and seconds to break. They respond better when you are firm, fair and consistent during your interactions with them. Don’t promise services you can’t deliver and follow through on what you say you will do. Maintain their confidentiality. They may be ashamed of their criminal history, disclose things to you from their past they are not comfortable with and share things that can also make you uncomfortable. Following these principles will assist you in establishing and maintaining professional boundaries.

13. Maintain professional boundaries Clearly define your role and the services you can provide them. Communicate to the individual that you are forming a professional relationship and what your expectations are, as well as what they expect from you. Address any misconduct, disrespect or inappropriate behavior immediately with the individual. If at any time you feel uncomfortable, or that the boundaries aren’t clear, please reach out to your supervisor or a co-worker to process this.

14. Transferable skills Previously incarcerated individuals have many skills they used in an illegal way to get their needs met. They also have training and employment skills received while incarcerated and can reference them in job interviews. Explain to them what transferable skills are and help them identify what skills they already have. Knowing their current skill set can be instrumental in job placement. Nearly 80% of previously incarcerated individuals want to work and are desperate to reenter the workforce and contribute to society again.

15. Soft skills Soft skills may also be known as work readiness skills, people skills or interpersonal skills. Employers value those that can work well with others and know how to behave in the workplace. Soft skills are essential to building relationships and can create more opportunities for advancement in the workplace. Some of the most import soft skills recognized in the workplace are communication, teamwork, adaptability, problem solving and leadership. Assist the individual in identifying their soft skills and refer them to in house workshops or outside agencies if there are areas they need or want to improve in.

16. Educate It’s often times uncomfortable for a previously incarcerated individual to “sell themselves” when it comes to getting that job or maybe even getting the courage to apply in the first place. Whether it’s due to low self-esteem or lack of a prosocial role model in their lives, it can definitely be a barrier to employment. Educate them on a couple unique job placement tools they could qualify for due to having barriers to employment. The Federal Bonding Program and Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) are programs the potential employer can use to provide them a peace of mind in hiring a previously incarcerated individual.

17. Summary The goal at the end of the day is to help the previously incarcerated individual find employment just like you would with any other individual that walks into your office. They have a lot more at stake if on supervision, such as the risk of returning to incarceration, and are generally eager to work and provide for their families. Every previously incarcerated individual that you help find and/or retain employment is a benefit to society and helps reduce recidivism.